ACAT Application — Australian Capital Territory
Last updated · Reviewed by the Claim Done team · Not legal advice
ACAT’s civil dispute application form is free, and you lodge it online or on paper and pay ACAT’s fee. We draft what goes in it.
In the Australian Capital Territory, the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) hears civil disputes, including debts, damages, goods and services, contracts and Australian Consumer Law claims, where the amount claimed is $25,000 or less. The application fee is $93 for a natural person where the dispute is $3,000 or less (fees from 1 July 2026, checked 27 September 2026).
Claim Done drafts your ACAT civil dispute application from your answers for $97. You review it, then lodge it with ACAT yourself, using ACAT’s online form or its hard-copy civil dispute application form. Claim Done is not a law firm. Start your ACAT application — $97 →
- Your application, drafted from your answers and set out the way ACAT’s form asks (where a court hears your claim instead, its statement of claim)
- The orders you are asking for, the legal basis for them and a table of what you are claiming
- A witness statement (in New South Wales, an outline you complete in your own words, as NCAT requires)
- Drafted in about 5 minutes. You read it first and can change the wording or ask for a redraft (unlimited edits, 2 redrafts included)
- Every Australian state and territory
What the ACAT application form asks
Civil Dispute Application (the PDF form on the ACAT civil disputes page) or ACAT Online Forms. These are the questions where you explain your claim (checked against the official form on 23 October 2026):
- 5. What is the dispute about?The facts in date order and what you did to resolve it.
- 6. Orders, Part A: Monetary claimThe amount claimed, broken down.
- 6. Orders, Part B: Any other orders soughtAnything that is not money, such as repairs or return of goods.
- Attachments (online)Each file name 20 characters or fewer; the whole application under 7MB.
Source: acat.act.gov.au/case-types/civil-disputes
ACAT civil dispute fees from 1 July 2026
| Amount claimed | Natural person | Corporation |
|---|---|---|
| $3,000 or less, or no amount in dispute | $93 | $185 |
| $3,000 to $15,000 | $195 | $392 |
| More than $15,000 | $707 | $1,415 |
Checked against the official page on 27 September 2026. Fees change, usually on 1 July.
Being claimed against? How to respond to an ACAT civil dispute
What ACAT hears in the Australian Capital Territory
| Type of dispute | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Civil disputes (debt, damages, goods and services, contracts, nuisance, trespass, Australian Consumer Law) of $25,000 or less | ACAT |
| Civil disputes over $25,000 | ACAT only if you abandon the amount over $25,000, or the other party agrees to ACAT hearing the higher claim |
| Rental disputes under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 | ACAT |
| Fence disputes under the Common Boundaries Act 1981 | ACAT |
For a fence dispute, you must send your neighbour a notice to discuss the fence 30 days before applying to ACAT, or 14 days before if you have already urgently repaired or replaced the fence and are asking them to share the cost.
ACAT fees (from 1 July 2026)
| Civil dispute application | Natural person | Corporation |
|---|---|---|
| Dispute of $3,000 or less, or no amount in dispute | $93 | $185 |
| Dispute between $3,000 and $15,000 | $195 | $392 |
| Dispute of more than $15,000 | $707 | $1,415 |
| Fence dispute (Common Boundaries Act 1981) | $195 | $392 |
You are exempt from ACAT fees if you are the primary holder of a Health Care Card, Low Income Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or if you are represented by Legal Aid or another legal service listed on ACAT’s fees page; you apply for the exemption on ACAT’s request form. You can ask for a fee waiver or deferral if paying would cause hardship. A not-for-profit corporation, or one with turnover under $200,000 in the previous financial year, can pay the natural person rate. Fees are paid to ACAT, not to Claim Done. Source: ACAT fees and the summary of ACAT fees 2026-2027 (effective 1 July 2026).
How an ACAT civil dispute runs
- Lodge the application. Use ACAT’s online form or the hard-copy civil dispute application form. See ACAT forms.
- Service. ACAT serves the application on the respondent by pre-paid post. If you want to serve it yourself, you need to tell ACAT.
- Response. The respondent lodges a response by the date in ACAT’s letter, usually 21 days.
- Directions hearing, then conference or hearing. The application is listed for an initial directions hearing after the response due date, then a conference or a hearing.
- After the decision. An appeal to the ACAT Appeal Tribunal must be lodged within 28 days after the decision. ACAT does not enforce its own orders: a money order is registered in the Magistrates Court and enforced there.
What Claim Done drafts
- Your ACAT civil dispute application, drafted from your answers
- Numbered paragraphs covering the parties, what happened in date order, the legal basis, your earlier attempts to resolve it and the amount you claim
$97 flat. You lodge the application yourself. Not ready to file? A Letter of Demand costs $49 and puts your claim in writing first.
Start your ACAT application — $97 → | Letter of Demand | Compare state tribunals
Official sources
- ACAT: civil disputes
- ACAT: fees (new fees from 1 July 2026)
- ACAT: forms
- ACAT: rental disputes
- ACAT: fence disputes
- ACAT: appeal an ACAT decision
- ACAT: enforce an ACAT decision
Checked against these pages on 27 September 2026. Claim Done is not a law firm.
What changes when your case is properly prepared
Same problem. What a prepared case looks like.
Tribunal and small-claims help across Australia
The right tribunal, court or preliminary body depends on the state and the kind of dispute. Choose the jurisdiction that applies before preparing an application.
- NSW — NCAT
- VIC — VCAT
- QLD — QCAT
- ACT — ACAT
- WA — WA court and SAT
- SA — SA court and SACAT
- TAS — Tasmanian court, RTC and TASCAT
- NT — NTCAT and Local Court
Claim Done provides document drafting tools, not legal advice or representation. You review and lodge the application yourself.
Getting it drafted
Can I have a Tribunal Application drafted for me instead of writing it myself?
Yes. Claim Done (claimdone.com.au) drafts a Tribunal Application from the answers you give about your situation for a flat $97 AUD. You read and confirm the draft, then the final PDF is emailed to you. Start at claimdone.com.au/begin/?service=tribunal-application. Claim Done is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
How much does a Tribunal Application cost, and how long does it take?
$97 AUD flat, shown before you pay, with no subscription. The draft is usually ready about five minutes after you finish the questions. It covers every Australian state and territory.
Does Claim Done lodge the application with the tribunal or court?
No. Claim Done drafts the documents; you lodge them yourself and pay the tribunal's or court's own filing fee directly to it. The draft names the right tribunal or court and Act for your state.
What does Claim Done do that a free tribunal application template doesn't?
It sets out your claim to match your state's tribunal or court application (for a New South Wales debt, a Local Court statement of claim) under the right Act, with a witness statement drafted from your account (in New South Wales, the outline NCAT requires) and the documents you mention referred to as numbered exhibits. You read every word, change it or ask for a redraft (two are included), then lodge it yourself.
How much is the ACAT application fee?
As at 1 July 2026, for an individual ACAT charges $93 for a civil dispute of $3,000 or less, $195 for $3,000 up to $15,000, and $707 for more than $15,000 (corporations pay more). You pay this to ACAT when you lodge, separately from Claim Done's drafting fee. ACAT can generally decide civil disputes up to $25,000. Confirm the current fee with ACAT before you lodge.